Reimagining Indeed Education for Workers
Project
Indeed Education North Star Vision for 2022 and BeyondMy contribution
As the UX Lead at Indeed Education, I spearheaded all UX initiatives, conducting thorough research to establish best practices, processes, and design standards. I developed the North Star vision to secure buy-in from senior leadership, which ultimately shaped the product strategy and roadmap, influencing the direction of 3 product teams across various platforms and touch points.Skills/ Expertise
User Research, UX Strategy, Design Thinking, User Experience Design, UX Workshop, PresentationTimeline/ Duration
Research: Dec to Mar 2022
Conceptualisation: Apr to Jun 2022 Tool
UserTesting, Miro, Figma
At Indeed,
we help people get jobs.
Indeed Education is a platform that helps people look for courses and training providers for professional certifications.
Our Marketplace search has successfully assisted thousands of workers in discovering professional certifications and licenses. Motivated by this achievement, we aim to broaden our offerings to provide enhanced support for individuals seeking career changes. My responsibilities
I joined during the initial phase when the platform was merely an MVP search tool, primarily accessed through SEO. The business goal for the team was to evolve and expand the Education product, nurturing it through its growth stages to determine if it could ultimately integrate into Indeed's core product suite.
01
Identifying and prioritising quick wins
02
Making users the core of Education’s long-term vision and strategy
03
Aligning teams and stakeholders.
Designing, prioritising, and testing vision concepts with users, followed by a process of learning and iteration to continuously refine and improve the outcomes
What have we learned?
Career is a marathon that consists of multiple job seeking journeys and some career-switching journeys
From a survey aimed at users visiting the Education Marketplace, we discovered that:12.4
25%*
Survey respondents were actively looking for a career change34%
Survey respondents from Indeed Education were looking to change their job role, industry, or both*In total, 47.1% of job seekers were considering a career change. Specifically, 25.4% of those surveyed were actively seeking to transition into a role or industry different from their current or most recent one
Workers explore roles that they are not yet qualified for
188M
Monthly job impressions with skill, certification, or license mismatch35M
Monthly jobs impressions with certification or license mismatch1M
Accounts view at least one job for which they are not qualifiedResearch Discovery
Understanding our users to more meaningfully connect our product strategy to their needs
To justify a long-term investment, Education needed a stable and compelling narrative to show to US leadership what problems Education was solving, for who, and how we meant to do it. To achieve this, understanding our users' challenges was crucial. I collaborated with a User Researcher to conduct comprehensive user research with workers. This research incorporated a range of methodologies, from in-depth interviews focusing on career motivations to structured surveys.We employed targeted questions to extract insights about the demographics of workers pursuing professional training for certifications and licenses, helping us to build an informed understanding of their needs, preferences and problems.Research methodologies
User interviews about cert-seeking & career motivations
On-page survey intercept on Education Marketplace
◐ Qualitative archetypesSurvey (n=682) and cross-tabulation analysis
◐ Quantitative archetypesResearch Artefacts
Interviews & surveys
What their current experience looks like
Who currently gets the certifications and licenses
What are the phases of getting certified?
What are the overaching challenges
Landed her first job as a Subway sandwich artist and was told that she needed to get a Food Safety certificate before her start date. - Emily
A long-time real estate and insurance agent who sees his required continuing education as a chore. Once he’s validated legitimacy, he chooses solely based on price and efficiency. - Jim
After two years of being the main Salesforce user on her team, she discovered and pursued a Salesforce Marketing Cloud certification to cement her expert status in her team and company.- Kanani
A experienced project manager who got his Project Management Professional (PMP) cert after seeing others on LinkedIn who had it and realising he already fit the work hours requirement. - Matthew
A small F&B business owner who completed a Food Safety Manager certification to allow her and her company to cater for large events. - Irina
A data administrator feeling stuck in his role. He’s considering signing up for an intermediate-level coding bootcamp in order to expand his work scope.- Vaughn
Synthesising Research Insights
Mapped and built qualitative user profile attributes from conversations with workers
Together with a User Researcher, we carried out an in-depth analysis of a diverse group of workers, focusing on:Their motivations, needs and challenges
Their circumstances
What information they want
What touch points they use
This comprehensive analysis enabled us to identify recurring patterns, themes, and trends, offering a deeper insight into the workers' needs and preferences.The approach not only enabled us to accurately identify our key user segments and develop a product strategy closely aligned with their needs, but also equipped me with crucial insights to foster a user-centric mindset that significantly shaped my design decisions across the project.Enhancing User-Centered Design
Experience mapping and user archetypes
Following an ample number of qualitative research sessions, we assembled the teams and key stakeholders to collaboratively co-create:
An experience map of what certification-seeking was currently like without our product. This was done through a cross-functional workshop.
01
User archetypes, based on different motivations for getting professionally certified.
02
Employing survey data and cross-tabulation analysis
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![Education Archetypes]()
Education Archetypes
Education Archetypes’ motivation for getting or renewing a credential
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![Point & Go Seeker]()
Point & Go Seeker
Just meeting the requirements to renew their license on time. They take the most courses.
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![Career Builder]()
Career Builder
Keeping themselves up to date, or obtaining credentials for past experience.
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![Career Climber]()
Career Climber
Looking to advance (ideally in their current job), into more senior or manager roles.
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![Focused Switcher]()
Focused Switcher
New to the industry, they lack the professional resources that others have. Most price-conscious.
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![Career Explorer]()
Career Explorer
Trying to escape feeling ‘stuck’ in their current job. Uncertain about their career goals and next steps.
Current State
There are 4 phases of getting professional training
There are 4 distinct phases commonly experienced by workers when pursuing professional training. These phases were pinpointed through interviews and surveys conducted with individuals across various industries.
Right now, our focus is the Education experience, covering the first two phases...
...and a bit prior—exploring career-switching
Uncovering Opportunities to Deliver More Value
Our present Education Marketplace effectively supports users in the GET phase of their Education-seeking journey.
However, survey results indicate that a considerable segment of users on the Education Marketplace seek more extensive services than what a basic search feature offers.
We learned that many users prefer to begin their journey by broadly exploring educational options or even starting with an exploration of various careers.
A notable percentage of users on Indeed Education are indeed Career Switchers
job seekers were open to changing careers, 47.1%
were actively looking for a career switch 25.4%
Exploring new career paths often brings feelings of overwhelm and uncertainty, which can diminish confidence and motivation.
We've learned that for many Career Switchers, navigating this transition demands considerable time, effort, and guidance.
Career-Switching archetype often faces the most challenges in comparison to others.This underscores the importance of providing personalised resources and support specifically designed for Career Switchers, helping them manage the intricacies of career transitions.
By focusing on the unique needs of Career-Switching archetypes, we can ensure maximum value for all users, thereby effectively helping workers in achieving their career objectives.
Our research indicates that Career Switchers encounter substantial obstacles in their transition to new careers, necessitating extensive guidance. By offering customised resources and support, we aim to facilitate their success and enhance overall worker satisfaction.
In short, we are confident that by addressing the needs of Career Switchers, we can maximise user value across all our Education archetypes.How Might We
Locking onto user problems
By harnessing both qualitative and quantitative data, I was able to identify the main challenges confronting Career Switchers. These valuable insights influenced my design decisions, ensuring that the product closely aligned with the users' needs and preferences.
To deliver the right value for workers, we believe in providing
A comprehensive solution that includes end-to-end support, featuring personalised career recommendations, mentorship and motivation from coaches, educational resources, and job matching services, all consolidated into one convenient platform.
Process
Design principles
Before initiating the design process, I formulated these product design principles to serve as a fundamental guide, ensuring that our product not only meet its functional requirements but also delivers a consistent, user-friendly, and brand-aligned experience.These guiding principles have been aligned with the insights and expectations of key product stakeholders, ensuring a harmonious and unified approach to our product development strategy.
Throughout every stage of the UX design process, these principles will be closely adhered to, ensuring that my design decisions and choices consistently reflect and uphold our core design ethos.-
Navigate users end-to-end through their extensive journey, providing unwavering guidance and motivation to ensure they remain focused and inspired.
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Enrich the experience with genuine support from coaches, mentors, and a vibrant community, fostering a network of human connections that empower and uplift.
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Offer intelligently tailored recommendations and configurable steps, ensuring each user's journey is highly personalised and directly aligned with their individual aspirations and goals.
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Keep interfaces simple and intuitive, allowing users to navigate with clarity and ease.
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Create a cohesive experience across the platform, where every element reflects a unified brand voice and vision.
User Flow
📍StartCareer A
Vaughn is currently a ‘Reporting Admin’ and wants to be a ‘Software Engineer’
Exploring Careers
👀
Career Guidance Entry Points
Offer guidance for careers that workers have demonstrated intent forSmart Career Recommendations
Offer career recommendations that makes use of transferable skills and offers better pay and work-life-balanceFigure out what is required to reach Career B 💭
Guidance
(with human connection)
Connect with people who have made this switch before Education Marketplace*
Search across bootcamps, upskilling course providers, training providers & enrol Find jobs/ internships
💼
Supported Job Search
Help users prepare for their job seeking journey of searching and applying for jobs. Provide entry level jobs that hire Career Switchers Career B 🎉
Successfully become a Software Engineer
Design Ideation
✏️
Sketching, Sketch, Sketchy
Having identified specific user challenges and aligned on user flows, I initiated the design process by sketching a preliminary concept for an all-encompassing dashboard. This dashboard is intended to integrate end-to-end support, personalised career recommendations, expert advice, educational resources, and job matching services into a unified, user-friendly interface.
🎨
Concepts explorations
To align with the project's timeline, I quickly progressed to developing high-fidelity concept designs, enabling me to swiftly present visual concepts to key stakeholders and gather their input for alignment.
In developing a unified and intuitive dashboard, I conducted a thorough review of Indeed's existing product offerings to identify opportunities for integration. This entailed identifying key entry points and proposing enhancements for the Indeed Homepage, Job Search Engine Results page (SERP), and User Profiles. Throughout this process, I carefully weighed user needs against business goals, striving to craft a streamlined and holistic user experience.
While developing design concepts, I not only meticulously adhered to Indeed's design style guide and system but also actively contributed to innovate within our framework, and driving the implementation of cohesive design patterns across all platforms and touch points. My approach ensured not just consistency, but also the continuous enhancement of our design system, aligning with our overarching goal of creating a seamless and intuitive user experience.
Feedback and Iterations
Design iterations
Drawing on initial input from key stakeholders, I continuously refined and evolved the dashboard design. This iterative process resulted in several versions of the final concept, each iteration focused on improving the user experience and aligning closely with the overarching product vision.
Harmonising designs with Indeed's branding & stakeholder vision for an intuitive user journey
To ensure my designs resonated with our vision and met stakeholder expectations, I established an extensive feedback loop with product leads and senior leadership. This collaboration was pivotal for infusing their insights into my work, prompting thorough refinements throughout the design process. My goal was to deliver a final product that not only captured the broad vision but also provided a fluid and intuitive user experience.
Throughout this endeavor, I diligently adhered to our product design principles. These principles acted as my navigational stars, guiding every decision and shaping each facet of my design journey.
Style guide
Integrating Indeed's style guide into my designs, I ensured a seamless brand consistency throughout the dashboard, reflecting the brand's visual identity and fundamental values. This approach contributed to a fluid user experience, harmoniously aligning with Indeed's well-defined design principles.
The North Star vision was developed with the aim of gaining senior leadership buy-in for a comprehensive long-term vision for Indeed Education
This vision will guide the product direction and roadmap for Indeed Education beyond 2022.
Following initial stages, I advanced to developing Figma prototypes, leading to the creation of a final high-fidelity prototype. This prototype is now ready for user testing, allowing us to collect immediate feedback (see below ↓)
You may press 'F' on your keyboard or click the maximise icon at the top right of the frame below to switch to full-screen mode for an enhanced view. If you need to reset the user flow at any point, simply press 'R'. Feel free to explore and interact with the prototype.Concept Testing with Users
🎮
Testing with users
Once the interactive prototype was complete, I collaborated with a User Researcher for user testing, a crucial phase for capturing direct feedback. This part of the process was instrumental in honing the design, as it allowed me to adapt based on user feedback and insights. This ensured that the final product not only meets our users' needs effectively but also validates that our dashboard substantially supports users in navigating their career-switching journey.Impact
The vision was presented to Indeed's senior leadership, securing their buy-in. It was met with highly positive feedback and enthusiasm, signaling strong support from the top.
The North Star vision was showcased at departmental Town Halls and Indeed Product Q&A sharing, sparking collaboration with other Indeed product groups intrigued by the vision. This North Star vision became key drivers for shaping Indeed Education’s product strategy and roadmap across 3 product teams: Education Discovery, Marketplace, and Data. Teams then went on to launch:Upskill product (powered by Education Marketplace)Career Coaching service - read case studyCommunity-driven Q&A platform - read case study
While the North Star vision established a strategic framework, subsequent projects and products were developed to address distinct aspects of education and worker needs. Each initiative, aligned with the overarching vision, was tailored to deliver targeted value. I continue to lead the design efforts and undertake thorough user testing to ensure that the solutions meet the specific needs of workers, thereby driving meaningful impact in their career journeys.